Record Description

This Collection will include records from 1735 to 1950.

Most of this collection consists of Certificates to Obtain a Marriage License, Marriage Bonds and Consents, Marriage Licenses, and Marriage Returns. The records are arranged by volume and year range. The type of record and time period varies between counties. Marriage records were generally well preserved, although fires, floods, or other disasters may have destroyed some records.

The earliest marriage bonds and licenses were usually handwritten on loose papers that were later bound into lettered volumes. Some marriage records had multiple entries on each page, while others had single records per page.

For a list of records by dates currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

How to Use the Record

Search the Collection

To begin your search, it is helpful to know the name and some other identifying information such as the birth place or birth date.

To search the collection by name fill in your ancestor’s name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person.

To search the collection image by image ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type and Years" which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one. Again you will need to compare the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor.

Be aware that with either search you may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination. Keep in mind:

There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.

You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.

Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.

Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

Using the Information

When you have located your ancestor’s marriage record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

For example:

Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.

Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.

Use the residence to locate church and land records.

The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.

Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages.

Tips to Keep in Mind

When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.

Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby.

The information in marriage records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.

Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.

There is also some variation in the information given from one marriage record to another record.

The marriage date, place, and residence of the bride and groom are relatively reliable. Other information, such as age or birthplace, is dependent on the knowledge, memory, and accuracy of the informants, usually the bride and groom.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:

Check for variant spellings of the surnames.

Search for the marriage record of the marriage partner if known.

Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.

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Contributions to This Article

We welcome user additions to FamilySearch Historical Records wiki articles. We are looking for additional information that will help readers understand the topic and better use the available records. We also need translations for collection titles and images in articles about records written in languages other than English. For specific needs, please visit WikiProject FamilySearch Records.

Please follow these guidelines as you make changes. Thank you for any contributions you may provide.

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

Citation For This Collection

The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

The above citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.